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Solution
• Designing and producing a
reduced form factor version of
Radstone’s commercial
PowerPC4A rugged single board
computer.
• Sourcing and designing-in new
components to meet low power
consumption specifications.
• Innovative mechanical
engineering to meet high levels
of vibration.
• Reducing software development Agile and stealthy, the twin-engine Eurofighter
time via the Board Support Typhoon is the world’s most advanced multi-
Package.
role combat aircraft, capable of operating from
Business Benefits hastily prepared bases and small runways
around the globe.
• Improved performance.
• Reduced cost of ownership. The aircraft’s ability to deliver air dominance
• Strategy for countering beyond visual range and in close combat - and
component obsolescence. high sortie rates in all weathers - is made
possible by the unprecedented use of
integrated flight control and avionics systems
supporting the pilot.
Staying Ahead World-Leading Performance and Value
To deliver unrivalled agility, power and multi-role It is not just performance that sets the Eurofighter
capabilities – is at the heart of the designers’ vision. But Typhoon apart from its rivals. From the start of the
such is the unremitting pace of change in the world of program, a strong emphasis has been placed on reducing
commercial silicon that, still within its development cost of ownership in addition to delivering outstanding
phase, the Eurofighter program faced a major challenge. performance and flight safety.
There was the need to insert a new generation of
technology into one of the aircraft’s key sub-systems – the
Defensive Aids Sub-System (DASS) – that provides state- “Their people have a deep
of-the-art, all round prioritized assessment and fully understanding of how to utilize
automated responses to single or multiple threats. commercial components in
To help it meet that challenge BAE Systems, the prime demanding environments and
contractor for the DASS, turned to Radstone Technology. working with them we have been
Its response has been to develop a customized form- able to integrate leading-edge silicon
factor version of its PowerPC4A rugged single-board
into the program within a very
computer, combining cutting-edge design and production
technologies with over 40 years of experience serving the demanding timescale.”
defense industry. Five Radstone boards now lie at the Richard Edwards
heart of each Eurofighter DASS. - Engineering Project Manager,
“Radstone understood our requirements very well,” BAE Systems
explains Richard Edwards, the Engineering Project
Manager for the DASS at BAE Systems. “They listened to
With the increased focus on smart procurement has come
us and didn’t respond by asking us to make changes to
renewed interest in how to best take advantage of the
our existing system; they worked with us to meet our
economic and performance advantages of COTS
exact requirements. Their people have a deep
(Commercial Off the Shelf) technology without
understanding of how to utilize commercial components
compromising long-term system integrity.
in demanding environments and working with them we
have been able to integrate leading-edge silicon into the For the DASS design team at BAE Systems in Stanmore,
program within a very demanding timescale.” England, finding the answer to that question became very
real as – with the system entering the final stages of its
development phase – they decided to replace the original
General Purpose Processor, based on Motorola 68020
technology, with a PowerPC-based solution.
Stringent Power Requirements Radstone’s solution was to dedicate an engineer for six
months to design and blow a new Field Programmable
The need to work within the DASS power envelope
Gate Array (FPGA) that integrated the DASS’
posed an immediate question for Radstone engineers
communications circuits to the Northbridge, including
because only 11 Watt were available as opposed to the
some additional functionality requested by BAE Systems.
17.5 Watt typically drawn from Radstone’s commercial
boards. Recognizing the importance of this part of the design,
Radstone produced a trial board with the core FPGA
Techniques to reduce power consumption such as
mounted on a PMC module which sat on a standard
removing Level 2 cache were not an option, so Radstone
decided to source alternative components, balancing processor card, so that BAE Systems could continue with
slightly less performance against much-reduced power software authoring in parallel with the development of
requirements. The Tundra Universe VME controller was the main processor design. More functionality was added
replaced by an IBM Alma controller, while the Motorola later.
PMC 106 Northbridge was switched with the Galileo Richard Campbell, BAE Systems’ Senior Software Engineer
Terrano. Despite this, the new Radstone design offered
on the Eurofighter program, explains the significance of
BAE Systems a ten-fold increase in processor
the module: “Both we and Radstone recognized that this
performance.
was one of the critical areas of the development. The
module was a very good way of de-risking that part of the
Reduced Form Factor – With Increased design, enabling us to work on the SDLC algorithms and
Functionality porting software to VxWorks before we received the main
One of Radstone’s first tasks was to develop a board that card. Our ability to start testing was very significant
matched the original 7 x 4 inch form factor – and the pin- because the SDLC code is very timing dependant and the
outs – of the original design instead of the industry use of faster processors required very thorough testing.”
Radstone recognized from the start of the program that contrast, Radstone’s commercial rugged PCBs are built to
the reduced form-factor and increased functionality also the company’s design, with two thick copper cores, in
inevitably led to the need for very high component addition to the signal layers, that act as both mechanical
density on the board. One facet of the solution was the stiffeners and an integral part of the heat management
decision to use then innovative sequential build system. Radstone’s commercial board not only proved up
technology, which enabled placement of BGA to the environment, it also resulted in reduced board
components on both sides of the board irrespective of costs. One challenge facing Radstone, however, was that
position. Radstone pushed its PCB (Printed Circuit Board) the physical space limitations of the DASS enclosure
manufacturing partners to the limit with it’s mechanical meant the company was not able to utilize its normal
and electronic design engineers (equipped with state-of- technique of using a stiffening bar to reduce vibration-
the-art CAD (Computer Aided Design) tools such as induced flex across the PCB. Besides which, BAE
Mentor Expedition PCB Design and Signal Integrity Systems need access to a high-speed bus on one side of
Analysis) designing complex networks of micro-vias with the card used for software testing.
completely different patterns on each side of the board.
It’s said that necessity is the mother of invention, but the
elegance of Radstone’s solution belies its fresh thinking –
a stiffening bar was actually soldered onto one side of the
“Radstone’s thermal management card, leaving free access to the high-speed bus on the
expertise was also impressive. other side.
They know their stuff backwards, Edwards also remembers being impressed by Radstone’s
using thermal imaging techniques approach to component placement and thermal
management – both key to ensuring ruggedness.
that we hadn’t previously seen.”
A detailed component placement review by Radstone
Richard Edwards
early in the design process, identified where best to sit
- Engineering Project Manager,
components on the board in order to best match their
BAE Systems
characteristics to the stress across a PCB while keeping
electrical connections as short as possible.
http://www.radstone.com
In addition, Direct Voice Input (DVI) is used to control many aspects of the
cockpit displays and assists the pilot in remaining head-out for longer than
ever, enhancing the operational edge. This edge is sharpened even more
with a world-leading DASS that offers unprecedented levels of protection
and operational flexibility in response to known and unknown threats to RADSTONE and the Radstone symbol are registered
trademarks of Radstone Technology PLC.
the aircraft. All other trademarks are the property of their respective
owners.
The DASS is fully integrated into the aircraft design and does not need to © Radstone Technology PLC 2003 Printed in UK
Publication RT280 4K11/2003
use any weapon stations. The state-of-the-art system provides front and
This publication is issued to provide outline information
rear Missile Approach Warners (MAW), decoy systems, chaff and flare only which (unless agreed by the company in writing)
may not be used, applied or reproduced for any purpose
dispensers, and laser warning. Stealth technologies have been or form part of any order or contract or be regarded as a
representation relating to products or services concerned.
incorporated in to the design features, minimizing the aircraft’s radar The company reserve the right to alter without notice the
specification, design, price or conditions of supply of any
signature. product or service.